You Can’t Be A Winner And A Loser At The Same Time

Today I want to talk about using your words. “Use your words” is a phrase often used when training stroke patients, children with an autism diagnosis, an in every day communication when glitches occur. So, it was a bit ironic for me after speaking it to my kids for years that they had to start saying “use your words” to me when I began losing memory, words and ability to concentrate due to autoimmune illness. It is important to choose and use your words wisely when communicating.

In this moment, I am going to talk about how to use your words in relation to weight loss. Specifically, one word: LOSS. Many of my friends are on weight loss journeys, and I deal with people every day as a FIT Coach who want to LOSE weight. I fell into this word trap myself recently when talking about goals to lose 10% of body weight and how losing just 10% of your body weight can help improve blood pressure, fluid balance and the way your body uses the fuel you put in it.

However, the question was put to me, “Why would you want to lose weight? Losing, means you can find it again.” It was an ah-ha moment. If you have been a yo-yo dieter who sheds pounds and then sees them pile back on, you are not alone, but you may benefit from what I am about to say: Weight loss is not the goal you want.

You want to reshape both your mind and your body. You don’t want to lose weight, you want to gain health, fitness and feel better, move better, live stronger and longer. Once you find the keys to unlocking your optimal health you never, ever, want to lose it – you want to continue to fuel that bounty of health and wellness.

What we think we become, and if there is even the tiniest bit of you that understood me when I mentioned that losing weight means you can find it again, that word play is already damaging your success. So, we need to change it for you, reshape it, and make it more effective. Our internal wordplay, even when it hides, lurking under the surface of our thoughts is just as, if not more, important as how we express ourselves with our voices, computers or pens. Choose your words wisely. After all, if the right message isn’t sticking in your own brain, how can you relay it to anyone else?

“Words are, of course, the most powerful drug used by mankind.” – Rudyard Kipling

Yes. Words are powerful. Use your words to create a better world for yourself and for others, whether they pertain to your weight or your family or your work or your entertainment or your creative pursuits. When I talk to my FIT Coach clients now, I don’t talk about weight loss unless it is to share this story. I am done mourning. I talk about reshaping, strengthening, feeding to fuel, and how you can crush, melt, burn, reduce, or annihilate your excess weight. It’s a small thing, but a powerful means to success.

Your mind is much more likely to respond positively and direct your body in actions that will create a healthier body, mind and spirit when you think in terms of excess rather than in terms of loss. The way you talk about your weight is one thing you can lose, and not ever wish to have back.

Use your words to reshape your reality and then follow through with the actions that make that new belief stick in your mind, as well as express itself to the world in a way that cannot be ignored or discounted. Life is competitive, and our biggest competition and barrier to being a succes is often how we use our words to think about ourselves. Remember, you can’t be a loser and a winner at the same time.